Same here in northwest Columbus. We did get a shower yesterday early morning, but everything is crispy.

My county here in NC just went to severe drought conditions. We have been having the same type of weather reports - possible afternoon T-showers. We can see the cloud build-up, hear distant rumble and NOTHING. It is so discouraging. The farmers fields are so parched - makes my parched garden seem small in comparison but it still hurts to go out and see years of work fried. I never thought I would see the day that I DIDN'T want to be in the garden :( - however I will make plans to WS new and more drought tolerant plants. I am really studying what is holding up under these conditions and I can still have a beautiful garden - just need to re-think it....

Lynne

Same here too. We're close to 14" under normal rain for the year & record temps. We broke a record Wednesday with a high of 104, yesterday it was 106. We are only allowed to water outside on certain days. I'm really surprised I haven't lost more plants than I have.

Hang in there everyone. We are also in a drought though have had a couple of inches of rain in the past two weeks and expect more tomorrow. Looking through last year's photos I note that everything was much larger and better blooms. Seems that droughts are cyclical. Hopefully, we will have a better year next year.
Bobbie

Only 83 today and supposed to get actual rain rain on Sunday with a reported high of 69...apparently not just sprinkles either! YEAH. Then it's back up in to the low 80's. It was just 89 yesterday and 90's the two days previous.
Sure hope you get some rain soon.

Vera

Nothing is sadder than watching plants you have nurtured and tried your best to care for gasp for moisture. Sorry to hear it is so bad. We are behind here on the rain too, and I have had to do more sprinkling then I'd like but nothing like you guys are experiencing. My frustration is also that I seem to be in a dry pocket - the rain sprinkles in every direction but my neighborhood. Then I get jealous - friends who live an hour west of here who plant nothing have green lawns. Who cares about lawns? Just give me some moisture for the gardens I have worked so hard for!

Hang in there. I think I'll start a thread on what's doing OK in dry conditions so we all can make lists for next year!

Nancy

Hey Karen I'm over in Florence and we had the exact same thing yesterday. We got some rain but probably not even an inch. Let's just say that I'm watering already again today. Hey at least you have neighbors like you I always worry that everyone thinks I'm a kook when I go outside when there's thunder and clouds and start watering my flowers. Of course most of the time we get nothing and I'm glad that I did.
It has to end soon. Doesn't it?

Strouper

I don't even want to think about what my next water bill is going to be. Not only the flowers and veggies  I've been refilling the birdbath every day because it dries up! Thank God I don't care if the lawn is green or not. I'd have to get a second job to pay for water.

As I've mentioned, Karen, I live in Covedale (I can see Target from the back bedroom). I actually had high hopes yesterday because it got so dark ad windy. The amount of rain we actually got barely wet the deck. We have a big, old maple tree in the backyard and the pavement below it wasn't wet at all.

I shouldn't complain too much, though, My grandparents live in Montana, where they've been in a drought for 10 years. They recently were evacuated from their house because of a wildfire. They've been allowed home, but have to be prepared to leave again with 90 minutes notice. And to add insult to injury, since they had to turn off the electric fence around their garden, the deer "pruned" his new roses for him. D'oh!

Strouper, I'd kill for an inch of rain! Our sprinkles, as mrsgeekboy said, didn't even wet driveways under trees. I had nothing in the rain gauge.

I think last year was awfully hot and dry here too, wasn't it? I was so sick all summer I could hardly tell from my bed. But I think we had a deficit last year too.

Karen

It's always hot here. Ugh. Sometimes I wish I still lived up north. But I don't remember it being quite this dry. I could be blocking it out, however!

Amy

I finally have given up all but the flowers right around the house. When I would water, that would bring the chickens and moles running. What the moles didn't push out the chickens scratched up! Between all the critters and drought I've lost lots I'm afraid. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised next spring. Here's hoping.

I can't remember the last time it rained in Pleasant View, Tn. where I live. I don't mind when the grass turns brown but I hate to see the plants suffer. We have had temps between 97 and 105 for the last 3 weeks. I have been in San Francisco since Sunday and have to stay here for at least another week. I can't believe the weather here. The temps here have been around 55 at night and 65 to 70 during the day. I hope it cools off before I have to go home.

Yep Karen it seems like the same thing every year. Years ago when we lived in a house my dad would water the grass every day just circling the sprinkler around the yard. Every year everyone says I can't believe how dry it is! When are we ever going to get rain? This is the worst I've ever seen it! And then next year it seems to do the same thing all over again. But hey this year seems to be the worst! LOL

Strouper

PS Last month the water bill was $160 and that just my flowers the grass is all dried up and dead. I'm sure it's going to be worse this month.

My husband paid the water bill a couple of days ago. It was $270 which was for, I think, May, June, and July. I'm pretty sure we are billed quarterly.

At least we finally got a cool day! I went out and flipped the compost today because the weather was finally cool enough to make the job bearable. I refuse to even try when it's 100 degrees out there. The high is only supposed to be 84 today, but back into the 90s tomorrow.

Karen

Been really dry here in MA as well. Some towns have full water bans now and others madatory odd even watering. My town still has a voluntary odd even day to water.

We have had a few periods of rain, a couple hours one day, then nothing for a week or more. Last night we had 3 hours of a "nice steady soaking rain."

The problem is the ground is so dry and been so dry for so long, that what we would really think of a nice soaking rain doesn't do much to help. It hits the surface and soaks in, maybe 2-3 inches at most, and by the next day, everything is bone dry.

My hubby figured that with the rain last night, it wouldn't be too bad mowing lawn in the back yard, no dirt dust blowing up with the lawn mower. No such luck, it was like a dust bowl while when he mowed.

Just before dark, I decided to see how much the rain really soaked into the ground. Not very far, dug a hole about 4 inches down and it was pretty much dry dirt all the way down.

This is not good, and I don't want to see my water bill for the summer garden watering. Not going to be pretty at all.

Fran

I totally understand. We are in a drought situation - it said on the TV. Not nearly as bad as some places...but, the plants can feel it.

Weather has been crazy!

Wow, I had no idea you folks' regions were so dry - hasn't been anything at all on the news about it, but then, if it wasn't for GardenWeb, I wouldn't know about the terrible drought conditions in Australia, either. You're all only a few hundred miles from here, and the only things I've watered (or have ever watered) are the plants in pots.

Since early March we've been getting at least 2-3 days of rain/storms every couple of weeks, and the nightly condensation off the fields is so heavy that it actually leaves small pools of water on concave surfaces. Every morning I go out and think, "Did it rain a little last night?" I'd imagine being so close to the river has a lot to do with it.

Hope everyone gets a nice big storm with lots of lightning and "soft" rain. Keep us posted.

YEAH!! It really is raining!!! How very nice indeed.

Vera

We have rain today (Finally!)- here in the land of 10,000 lakes- but we are inches away from our "average" rain fall- which, by the way, becomes drier as every year passes. We still have drought conditions across the state with the government helping out the farmers.
Odd in a way- one would think- with so much fresh water entering the oceans by the way the polar ice caps are melting there would be more flooding than drought.
Our temps here are also becoming more erratic with colder days in the middle of what used to be hot days- and HOT days in our winters.
Yep- as the old song goes, "The days, they are a changing."

Again, they're predicting about a 30% chance of rain several days this week, but nobody takes it to heart. It's Sunday afternoon and everyone is out watering, including me.

Karen

It's raining! I'm so excited!

Show off.

:)

It's been mostly north of here, but we got a LITTLE. I think there is some sort of force field around 270 and for folks south of I-70. Where's the fresh prince when we need him? (independence day).

I keep say we're the hole in the donut, the one place where it never rains.

On current radar, there's rain north, south, east, and west of us, but not a drop here. Two sprinklers have been running most of the day again. Same for all the neighbors. Though the weather guys are predicting rain again, there aren't any believers left.

Downright weird.

Karen

We didn't get anything all summer, but the last two weeks or so we've had rain almost every day. We're currently under a flood warning. The grass is fluorescent green and seems to be growing an inch a day. The bottom of my hill is a bog right now and I'm worried about the roses there but I planted moisture loving plants around the deck so they should be okay. I'll see what I can do about shipping it out :)

They're saying our rain chance is 90% today, 80% tonight, 60% tomorrow. Maybe it will finally happen!

This system is the remnants of hurricane Erin which flooded Texas and Oklahoma. Maybe it's finally going to be my turn.

Karen

Global Warming?

No rain here in NC for weeks and weeks - There are times like this that I miss New York in the summer (not in the winter....). Oh well, maybe I'll just have a Sedum garden next year.....

Carrie

This summer's weather also makes me wonder what winter holds in store for us this year...wetter than normal?, more snow than normal?, warmer and drier?

Makes me shudder to think about it.

Karen

We too are under flood warnings as athenainwi. If only we could get it out in barrels to you who need it.

Pearl

Good God! Just looked at the weather. Now the weather service has issued a flood warning for us too.

We've had heat and drought, now the locusts are here, flooding approaches. What else can happen? Here, we automatically think tornados. Strong storms and flooding on the way, and tornados occur here under those conditions.

Karen

Karen, you fret the weather too much! Relax!

I just talked to my Mother (in Lebanon, OH) and she said they were getting a steady soaking rain, but nothing extraordinary.

It looks like the northern 2/3 of OH10 is getting plenty of rain today.

No rain here. That steady stream of rain extending from Illinois to Connecticut is staying north of Cinti, extending upward from about I-275, around the Lebanon area. If you look at weather.com's interactive map, you can see the cutoff there. They're still saying we might get a few showers, but that's all.

Earlier today they also said we'd get some rain from Erin, but it looks like that's stuck in Missouri and dying out too.

So the drought continues. I fret the weather so much because it has made for a miserable summer. I don't even want to garden in a humid 100 degree area.

Karen

We are getting rain! I wish I could send it south!

I wish you could too! I've been watching the rain on radar all day and thinking of you, bakemom. I'm happy for you. I'm sure it's a welcome relief.

Karen

We've FINALLY got some much needed rain for the past 2 days. The grass is actually beginning to look a bit green, instead of brown. I'm so tired of daily watering with a hose, but my plants would be 'toast' without it.

Yep Karen the same situation you talked about above around 11 A.M. the winds started to blow and the clouds started to roll it but I thought hey lets put the sprinkler on anyway. Made sure that I rolled up all my windows when I got to work and now it's 11 P.M. and believe it or now NO RAIN. Where's that flood water that they're talking about?

Strouper

That flood is all down in Texas and Oklahoma :) We've had all of ya'll's rain all summer. We burst out of our drought with a vengeance.

My dad is finally getting moisture in Colorado too. He's been complaining for at least a decade about his drought....even if it rains in Denver, it splits and goes north and south of him.

Lisa

We have way to much rain here in Wisconsin this week, and more to come. With all this rain there is no sun. Dark and gloomy all day, and cool at night.
To cool for my container grown cucumbers. They are just not doing anything, and tomato's aren't ripening either. OT ~ Karen, have you harvested any of those 'Gentian Blue' larkspur seeds yet? I just loved the pictures you posted of them awhile back on this WS forum. Hint, Hint!!!! Judy